


Fading Hope

by Moon_Blitz



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, Captivity, Emotional Manipulation, Isolation, Leashes, M/M, Mild Blood, Shock Collars, Threats of Violence, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22604977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Blitz/pseuds/Moon_Blitz
Summary: Takeru is captured by the Kaiser, and watches as his world crumbles.
Relationships: Ichijouji Ken/Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	1. Hope, Defiant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ryuutchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuutchi/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw your Digimon Kaiser prompts and ran with it, and the fic exploded from there. This was originally going to be around 5k, but then plot happened. Thanks for the great prompts, and I hope you enjoy it!

Ken smirked as he double-checked the straps securing his prisoner to the infirmary bed. The blonde-haired boy was unconscious, head tilted slightly to the side giving Ken a good view of the bruise blossoming on his cheek. The bruise matched similar ones on the boy’s back and ribs, and the right side of his body was covered in scrapes and scratches from the crash landing that had led to his capture.

Stepping back, Ken called up a keyboard with a gesture, and initiated a scan of his prisoner’s body. Nothing seemed to be broken, and he had no major wounds, but Ken had learned that humans didn’t heal as quickly as Digimon did in this world. It was odd, he thought, considering that humans had to be turned into data just to enter the Digital World. What caused them to be turned back into flesh and blood, and did that affect their DNA in any way?

Probably not, he concluded as the scan ended and the detailed results appeared. He had been going in and out of the Digital World for a while now with no ill effects, and the foolish Chosen who were fighting him seemed fine from what he could tell. His prisoner began to stir, so Ken dismissed the scan and watched as the helpless Chosen Child awoke.

“Wha…? What happened?” he mumbled groggily a few seconds later, blinking slowly and squinting as he tried to focus.

“Your noble steed fell in battle and you were both captured,” Ken said, smirking as his prisoner whipped his head to the side to glare at him. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy playing with this one. Out of the whole group, he seemed to hate Ken the most.

“Where’s Patamon?” the blonde shot back, blue eyes alight with fury.

Ken waved a hand dismissively. “In a cell, awaiting my call, like all my other slaves.”

Terror replaced fury as the boy paled, recoiling against the bed. “N-No! You d-didn’t…!”

“ _ Of course _ I put an Evil Ring on it. Your precious partner’s no good to me otherwise,” Ken replied, smirk widening into a smile at his prisoner’s horrified expression.

“You’re a monster!”

“And you’re a child if that’s the worst insult you can come up with,” Ken replied with a roll of his eyes, even though his prisoner probably couldn’t see it though his tinted glasses. The boy was trembling, although he couldn’t tell if it was from rage or fear.

“Where are the others?” the boy asked in a choked voice at last.

“Gone,” Ken said, looking away and adjusting his cloak. “They ran away and left you-”

“Never! They would never leave me like that!” his prisoner burst out, and Ken narrowed his eyes at the interruption.

“-left you like the cowards they are,” he finished smoothly. Granted, Ken had flooded the area with slaves in order to force them to retreat, but the Chosen had fled nonetheless. 

“What did you do to them?”

“Nothing,” Ken said snapped his patience starting to run out. When his prisoner took a breath, looking like he was about to argue, Ken stepped closer to the bed and glared down at the boy. “I think you misunderstand the situation,” he said, voice low and menacing.

The blonde had enough sense to keep quiet, and Ken continued. “You are my prisoner.  _ My. Prisoner. _ That means no arguing. No disobedience. You will follow my commands to the letter. Otherwise you will be punished.”

“I’d rather die than listen to you!”

Ken gritted his teeth, but kept from snapping back. Arrogance had lost him his first prisoner a few weeks ago, and Ken never made the same mistake twice. Better to treat his prisoner like the foolish child he was than get into a shouting match.

“Very well. I was going to treat your bruises and let you have a comfy bed for the night, but since you insist, you shall remain here until morning. Ogremon!” The two hulking creatures entered at his call, and he turned to them. “Guard him. Tend to his  _ bodily needs _ as you see fit,” he ordered with a sneer. He would deny his prisoner food, but not water or a bathroom - he’d adjust the Ogremon’s orders once back in his control room.

The two slaves nodded and settled on either side of the door as Ken left the room, leaving his prisoner to sulk for the night.

\- - -

Takeru shifted on the uncomfortable bed and opened his eyes, staring angrily at the ceiling. He’d never believe that Daisuke and the others would just leave him behind to be caught by the Kaiser. Something must have happened to them. Were they hurt? Were they being held in their own rooms like he was? Worry gnawed at his stomach, and he twisted, tugging at the straps that held him down.

Could he risk an escape attempt? It seemed to be late enough that the Kaiser was probably asleep, or possibly back in the Real World if he cared enough not to worry his parents. Takeru swallowed hard, realizing that his mother probably thought he was staying with Yamato for the night. If he didn’t return home soon, she’d start to worry.

Yamato would already be worried, since there was no way Hikari would keep the news from him. He’d definitely want to rush in and try and rescue his little brother. But was that even possible? Even if Gabumon and the others could reach their Adult forms now, they weren’t strong enough to fight the Kaiser’s enslaved Digimon. They could go for the Dark Towers, but it would be a hard fight until they brought the Tower down. And that left fighting the Kaiser’s army to Daisuke, Hikari, Miyako and Iori. Sure, the four Armor Digimon could destroy the Evil Rings, but they no doubt would be heavily outnumbered. And that was just for one sector! The Chosen would be fighting blind, hoping to hit the spot where Takeru was being held.

Glancing at the two Orgemon who guarded the door, he considered his options. He wasn’t strong enough to take even one of them in a head on fight, but if he was fast enough, he could slip by them…

“Excuse me,” he called, deciding to take the risk. “I need to use the bathroom.”

The Ogremon closest to him shifted and lumbered over, red eyes fixed on Takeru. “Make it quick,” he rumbled, undoing the straps that held Takeru to the bed. Takeru sat up slowly, wincing as his bruises protested, but stood and let the Ogremon grasp his shoulder and lead him to a door opposite his bed. 

Quickly estimating the distance between the bathroom and the remaining guard, he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. The door had no lock, so Takeru remained on his guard as he relieved himself and washed his hands. His plan was vague, and Yamato was likely to yell at him if he ever learned of the details, but it was better than nothing.

Grabbing the hand towel, he waited until the Oremon knocked on the door with a growled “Hurry up!” before flinging the door open as hard as he could. To his delight, it struck the Ogremon square in the face, and the Digimon stumbled back in surprise. Darting by his guard while they were momentarily stunned, Takeru put his athleticism to good use and dashed towards the remaining Ogremon.

“Stop!” the enslaved Digimon cried, stepping into his path and trying to use their size to block his way. A flick of the wrist sent the hand towel over the Ogremon’s eyes, and Takeru ducked under the outreached arm and out the door, which opened as he approached.

Design flaw, he thought gleefully as he heard both Ogremon roar and start to give chase. Making a split-second decision, he went right and bolted down the hallway. Several doors lined each side, but since he had no idea where they went, he ignored them.

Racing down the hall, he was greeted with the sight of an elevator. Too slow, he decided, looking around for another route. Aware of pounding footsteps behind him, Takeru spotted a door next to the elevator, different in shape and colour than the others. Opening it, he sighed in relief as he found a stairwell, stairs extending both up and down. He took a breath, then headed up the steps, figuring it was better to go up than down in a case like this.

A thud and a commotion below him had him smiling, and by the shouting, he learned that the two Ogremon had both tried to go through the door at the same time and had promptly gotten stuck. 

Takeru continued to climb, ignoring the pain along the right side of his body and the burn starting in his legs. He wished he could look for Daisuke and the others, but he had no idea if they were being held here, and even if they were, he had no time to spare. He made it up several flights of stairs before he heard thundering footsteps start to come from above and inwardly groaned. The rest of the Kaiser’s security were smarter than his two Ogremon guards, apparently.

Exiting the stairwell on the next floor, Takeru made it down the hall and around the nearest corner before skidding to a halt, eyes wide. Facing him was a humanoid Digimon dressed in red samurai armour, sword drawn. “Halt, prisoner,” it said, its baritone voice still menacing even with the monotone it spoke in due to the Evil Ring’s influence. 

Takeru was wondering if it was too late to retreat and try the stairs again when electricity crackled behind him. Pain seared through his back as his limbs seized up, and his vision faded to black as he toppled towards the floor.

\- - -

Ken had just changed into his pajamas when his Digivice beeped twice, a signal from Wormmon that something had happened. He scowled at it, but turned to his computer and booted it up, snagging a pair of headphones and slipping them on so that his useless partner’s voice wouldn’t disturb his parents. 

“This better be important!” he hissed once the video link to his base was open. He doubted the Chosen would stage and attack this late at night, since they didn’t seem to have a personal link to the Digital World like he did. So that meant it was something involving his prisoner.

“S-Sorry, Ken-chan!” his partner whined, and he glared at the creature until it said in a rush, “The prisoner slipped past his guards and got up several floors to the research division before a Musyamon and Gazimon stopped him.”

“Did he now?” Ken said slowly, tapping a finger on the desk as he thought. “Did he enter any of the labs?”

“No, he remained in the hallway.”

That was good news, at least. Some of his experiments would probably anger the boy even more than he already was. “Was he injured?”

“A burn on his back from Gazimon’s electrical attack, and a bump on his forehead from where his head hit the floor after he was paralyzed. He’s back in the infirmary under increased guard,” his partner said, glancing off to the side to check another screen. “He seems to be asleep at the moment.”

Asleep could be bad, if the prisoner had suffered a concussion. “Run some scans to make sure he doesn’t have any head injuries, then sedate him and have one of the slaves with medical training tend to his wounds.”

“Right away, Ken-chan!”

“Don’t call me that!” he growled, then closed the link and shut down his computer. A glance at the clock showed that it was nearly midnight, and he had school in the morning, as well as a chess tournament to attend in the afternoon. Grumbling about the nuisance that was his life in this world, Ken went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musyamon has been a long-time favourite Digimon since he first appeared in 02, and I wish he'd appear more often because he has an awesome design and some interesting evolution lines if you go poking through various wikis.


	2. Hope, Collared

Takeru woke up slowly, surprised to find that he was pain-free. However, he was still strapped to the uncomfortable bed, so he took a moment to sigh before he opened his eyes. The red samurai Digimon was now guarding the door, and several Gazimon were scattered around the room, peering and screens or somehow typing on keyboards with their long claws.

Upon seeing he was awake, one padded over a different console and spoke into it after pressing a few buttons. Probably informing the Kaiser, Takeru thought, giving the cat-like Digimon a glare before letting his gaze drift around the room. As expected, the Kaiser showed up after a few minutes, sending the Gazimon scurrying from the room with a harsh snap of “Leave!”

“Awake at last, are we?” the Kaiser said lazily as he stopped next to Takeru’s bed. His stomach dropped even as he struggled against the straps keeping him pinned down. How long had he been asleep? Had the others been punished for his escape attempt?

The Kaiser laughed as Takeru stared in horror at him. “Did Gazimon stun your tongue as well as your muscles? Or are you not a morning person?”

“Shut up!” was Takeru’s weak response. Yeah, he needed to work on his comebacks. Even Daisuke would have responded better than that. “What did you do? How long was I asleep?” he demanded.

“You were sedated for a day and a half, and your wounds were healed,” the Kaiser said, reaching out and trailing a gloved hand down Takeru’s bare chest. He shuddered at the touch, wondering what the hell had been done with his shirt after he had been captured. The Kaiser chuckled, and ran his fingers upwards until he was grasping Takeru’s chin. “I could have left you to suffer, you know. Especially since your own stupidity led to you getting injured even more.”

“What did you do to me?” Takeru snarled, glaring at the other boy. He hated that he had been unaware of what had been done to his own body, and hated that the Kaiser had something of a point in that it was his own fault.

“Nothing aside from some burn cream, bandages and painkillers,” the Kaiser said casually, before arching an eyebrow. “Why? What did you think I did?”

“Burn cream?” Takeru echoed, ignoring the question. The Kaiser could have done anything to him, including things he didn’t want to think about. 

“You had an electrical burn on your back. Lucky for you, it shouldn’t scar.” The Kaiser’s grip on his chin tightened, and he leaned in closer. “Now, about your little escape attempt. I will not tolerate any disobedience from you, and so you will be punished.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Takeru said, grateful when his voice didn’t shake. He refused to be afraid of the Kaiser - he could take whatever was thrown at him.

“Why, put a collar on you, of course.” Takeru felt himself pale as images of himself with a Evil Ring around his neck and gleaming red eyes flashed through his mind. The mere idea of being enslaved was horrifying, and he desperately hoped the rings didn’t work on humans. 

The thin dark blue collar the Kaiser pulled out from beneath his cloak eased Takeru’s fears somewhat, but he still eyed it with distrust. “Hold still,” the Kaiser ordered, and he debated disobeying before reluctantly holding still as the collar went around his neck. Takeru did pull away as much as he could when a narrow black chain shot out of the collar and into the Kaiser’s waiting hand, a leather handle forming as it curled around his fingers. 

“I said  _ hold still _ ,” the boy scolded, and Takeru hissed in surprise as a small jolt went through him. It was a shock collar?!

“Disobey, get a small shock. Continue to disobey, get a bigger shock,” the Kaiser explained with a small smile, looking entirely too pleased about the situation.

“And after that?” Takeru challenged, wondering how far he would go.

The Kaiser’s smile turned nasty. “You’ll just have to find out.”

Takeru glowered at the boy as he turned away. “Come here,” the Kaiser barked at the samurai Digimon by the door, who walked over to join them. “Don’t try anything foolish,” he warned Takeru, looping the handle around his wrist as he began to undo the straps keeping Takeru down.

Takeru ground his teeth but let the Kaiser release him. A moment later he was being urged to sit up, then stand. “Good boy,” the Kaiser murmured, making Takeru scowl. “Now come along quietly.” A tug underlined his words, and the Kaiser led him from the room.

As they went down the hallway towards the elevator, Takeru considered attacking the other boy from behind, wondering if it would be worth the punishment to at least attempt to show his displeasure. But the samurai Digimon was right behind him, and he had seen how sharp the blade of its sword was. He had no desire to find out how well it could cut.

Takeru was made to stand right behind the Kaiser once in the elevator, and so couldn’t see what floor he selected. He thought they might be going up higher than the floor he had reached on his mad dash through the facility, but it was hard to tell. The corridor the doors opened to was done in shades of dark grey and black, unlike the pale white and greys of the other hallways.

Takeru frowned at the small cells lining the corridor as he was led past them, both happy and disappointed to see that they were empty. Maybe the other Chosen were being held at another base or on another level.

“Where are you holding the others?” he decided to ask as they approached a door at the end of the corridor.

“I’m not holding them at all,” the Kaiser replied as they reached the door and entered into a bathing area. Takeru took in the square tub set into the middle floor, a row of stools in front of detachable shower heads along one wall with shelving units on the flanking wall.

“So you really only captured me?” It didn’t make sense for Daisuke, Hikari, Iori and Miyako to just leave without him. None of them were the type to just run away when faced with a foe who outnumbered them. The Kaiser must have done something to force them to leave.

“Indeed,” the Kaiser said, surprising Takeru by detaching the connecting chain. “I can still shock you, and water does not mix with electricity,” he added with a smirk. “Now go on, have a bath.” The Kaiser made a shooing motion as the samurai Digimon settled next to the door.

“With you right here?!” he sputtered, watching the Kaiser type on a translucent keyboard and somehow summon a comfortable chair.

“Obviously.” A mild shock came, making Takeru wince. “I’m not leaving, and you’re not leaving without a bath, so stop being insecure and bathe.”

Grumbling under his breath, Takeru turned his back on the boy and began to undress. He had bathed with his family of course, and the odd time with the other male Chosen or on school trips with his classmates, but this was different. A glance over his shoulder found the Kaiser looking intently at him now that he was naked, so he shuddered and went to the stool and showerhead. 

The water was warm, but Takeru didn’t linger, quickly washing off any lingering dirt and grime from the battle and rough landing. He recalled hitting the ground on Pegasmon and a flare of light as Pegasmon devolved to Patamon, momentum making Takeru skid through several bushes, which had probably shredded his shirt and hat, but nothing after that. What had happened? He was certain Nerfitimon and Hikari had been diving down to help him, so what had made them stop? Had the Kaiser brought out a super-powerful Digimon and chased them off? They hadn’t encountered any Perfect level Digimon yet, but the Kaiser could just be holding them in reserve. Try as they might, the Chosen weren’t making a ton of progress defeating his empire, not when the Kaiser’s territory was so large.

He turned the water off with a frown, realizing that he would have to turn around to get to the tub. Well, he could walk backwards until he reached it, but he would either get mocked or shocked for doing so. And there were no towels in reach he could use to cover himself. Summoning his courage and aware that he was already blushing, Takeru stood up and turned around to walk to the bath.

“Oh? You’re bigger than I expected,” the Kaiser said with a smirk, making Takeru blush harder.

“What are you, five?” he shot back, dipping a toe in the water to test the temperature. It was nice and hot, thankfully.

“I’m eleven, the same age as you,” the Kaiser replied. “When is your birthday?”

Takeru slipped into the water and moved across it to the edge closest to the Kaiser before answering. “In the fall.”

“Oh how nice, I’m older than you,” the Kaiser said in delight, shifting slightly in his seat.

“Of course you are,” Takeru muttered, resting his arms on the edge of the tub. He felt better now that everything from his shoulders down was out of sight. The Kaiser looked mildly disappointed, so he counted it as a win.

“What’s your full name?” Takeru opened his mouth to object to getting interrogated while having a bath, but shut it when the Kaiser held up the collar’s handle. 

“...Takaishi Takeru,” he said after a long moment.

“Good boy, that wasn't so hard, was it?” The Kaiser smiled at him and leaned forward in his chair. “Family?”

“My parents and my older brother Yamato.”

“How old is your brother?”

“Fourteen.”

“Where do you live?”

Takeru hesitated, not wanting to give away everyone’s location. The Kaiser dangled the collar handle from one finger, eyebrow raised. “I live in Odaiba. My brother lives elsewhere in Tokyo.”

“Oh, your parents are divorced. Who do you live with?”

“My mother,” Takeru mumbled, heart twisting as he thought about how worried she would be. Yamato was no doubt covering for him for now, but that couldn’t last. 

“Tell me about the others,” the Kaiser demanded, and Takeru gritted his teeth. It felt like a betrayal to just give information to their enemy, even if he was being forced to.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked instead, his question making the other boy frown and think for a moment.

“Because I’ve been treating you as mere pests - which you are - but since you’re proving hard to stamp out, I’ve decided to take you meddling fools more seriously.”

Takeru felt himself pale as the full impact of the Kaiser’s words hit him. He and the others had fought hard for each victory, each bit of territory they had snatched from the Kaiser’s control. Some sectors had been reclaimed almost immediately, while others remained free, and Takeru realized now that the Kaiser didn’t view those areas as important enough to reconquer. Until now, anyway.

“Yes, you  _ should _ be scared,” the Kaiser taunted, settling back in his chair. “I plan on doing everything in my power to crush your little friends. Now, tell me about them!”

Takeru flinched at the angry order, but took a breath and said, “Fine. Who should I start with?”

“The girl with the cat Digimon.”

“Her name is Yagami Hikari, and her partner is Tailmon. Like me, she helped save the Digital World three years ago, along with her older brother and our friends. She has the Crest of Light and the Digimental of Light,” Takeru said, hating himself.

“I see.” The Kaiser looked interested, and Takeru suppressed a scowl. “Your idiot leader?”

He had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping back and defending Daisuke, answering through gritted teeth, “Motomiya Daisuke. His partner is V-mon. He’s good at soccer and holds the Digimental of Courage.”

“But not the Crest of Courage?”

“No, that’s Hikari’s older brother.”

“Interesting,” the Kaiser murmured. “Go on.”

“Inoue Miyako is the girl in the glasses, and her partner is Hawkimon. She’s a year older than me, is head of the computer club at our school, and holds the Digimental of Love.”

“And the last member?”

“Hida Iori and his partner Armadimon. He’s nine and really skilled at kendo, and holds the Digimental of Knowledge,” Takeru finished with a sigh, missing his friends and hoping they would forgive him for telling the Kaiser about him. Daisuke and Hikari would, at least. 

“Very good, Takaishi,” the Kaiser praised, and Takeru shuddered at the way his name was said. “You can tell me about the older Chosen another time. Now, enjoy your bath.”

Takeru was glad to turn around and sink in the water, which was still nice and hot. He rested his head against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes, determined to actually enjoy the remainder of his bath. 

\- - -

Ken smiled at his settled into his chair in the command room of his base. Takaishi was in his cell devouring a meal, and his smile widened as he watched the screen that displayed his prisoner’s cell. He knew he was more mentally and physically mature than other boys his age, but it had been a surprise to find looking at a naked boy so pleasing. Takaishi had definitely been uncomfortable with his attention, so Ken resolved to do it more often.

He opened the saved video of his prisoner’s bath and flicked through it until he found several good shots of Takaishi in the nude. Smirking as the images sent a thrill through him, Ken saved them and sent them to his personal computer to look at later. He knew how males enjoyed themselves in private, after all. 

Ken then got to work with the business of running his ever-expanding empire. The foolish Chosen had destroyed a tower in an outlying area while he was busy with his prisoner, and Ken scowled at the damage they had caused to the farming sector. He immediately began construction on a new tower, and scheduled a time to flood the sector Evil Rings once it was built. A personal visit wasn’t required for that. 

He then replayed the video of the battle he missed, grumbling about irritating pests all the while. They had gotten lucky for once, striking an area with few guards that would defend the tower. It wouldn’t be a problem, except their Armor Digimon could destroy the Evil Rings first and then move on to the tower with no opposition. 

If only there was a way to prevent that...an idea sparked in his mind, and Ken smiled. He now held one of the Digimentals, the very thing that allowed them to destroy his rings. Surely the key to his problem lay within its coding. Resolving to work on it over the weekend when the Chosen wouldn’t interrupt him, Ken moved on, opening a map of his entire empire.

He had over half of the Eastern Region under his control, with numerous Dark Towers in the oceans on either side. He was steadily expanding his influence south and west, the northern and eastern parts of the continent already his. Ken narrowed his eyes, studying the map. It had taken him a year and a half to get this far before those foolish children showed up. He had made some progress since then, but his territory gains had definitely slowed down during the last three weeks. 

“How to proceed…?” he murmured to himself, staring at the map. He was definitely going to pay more attention to the pests invading his territory, but he had to do more if he wanted to crush them for good. Golden Week started next Monday, which would give him plenty of time to place more towers and enslave more Digimon. But it would give his foes the free time they needed to fight back, since it was beyond obvious they were busy with school during the week, just like he was. 

Unless...Unless he left the human world behind and moved here permanently. Then he wouldn’t be bound to things like school or the foolish activities his parents insisted he do to prove his genius. He’d have an advantage over the others, and more than enough time to do as he pleased. And, he thought, looking at his prisoner’s video feed, he’d have more time to spend with Takaishi. 


	3. Hope, Captive

Takeru had barely finished his breakfast the next morning before the Kaiser showed up. By his estimate, it was Saturday, and the other boy should be in school. “Don’t you have class?” he asked as the Kaiser unlocked his cell and stepped inside.

“Today is an open house day for school clubs,” the Kaiser answered with a shrug. “I have more important things to do than voluntarily spend time with children.”

Like enslaving another world, Takeru thought, but kept his mouth shut. He frowned as the Kaiser attached the leash to his collar and led him out of his cell. 

“There are rules you need to follow if you want to be treated well,” the Kaiser said as they walked towards the elevator. “You will refer to me as Kaiser-sama. You will follow my orders. You will be polite when speaking to me. You will not speak to any of the slaves unless told to do so. Failure to follow these rules will result in punishment. Do you understand?”

Takeru had to swallow his anger before he could respond. “Yes, Kaiser-sama,” he said simply.

“Good boy,” the Kaiser said, and Takeru ground his teeth at being treated like a dog. They entered the elevator, and the Kaiser pressed a button for an upper floor. “Now, you may ask questions, but I hold the right to not answer them. Complaints will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, with foolish complaints being ignored.”

Takeru rolled his eyes, but nodded, the movement making the chain leash jingle. “Where are we going?” he asked when it seemed like no more commands were coming.

“My command room. You will keep me company while I work.”

“Yes, Kaiser-sama,” Takeru murmured, mind spinning at the news. He couldn’t believe he was about to see the centre of the Kaiser’s operations, not so soon after being captured. Was it a trick? A trap to lull him into complacency? Or was the Kaiser arrogant enough to let an enemy prisoner see the inner workings of his empire?

The elevator slowed and stopped, the doors opening to reveal a group of Gazimon. “Kaiser-sama,” the murmured, and the Kaiser gestured for them to enter. Takeru studied them as the elevator continued, noting that they seemed to be well-fed and in good condition. Thinking back, he realized most of the enslaved Digimon his group had freed had been in decent shape as well, with only a few being on the verge of collapse from overwork or lack of food. 

Unsettled by this realization, he silently followed the Kaiser out of the elevator when it stopped again, barely taking in the pale silver walls and darker silver floor. A short walk brought them to a gleaming door which slid open at their approach, and Takeru shivered as he stepped into the large darkened room that lay beyond. Something about the room seemed evil, and he knew he was standing in the Kaiser’s throne room.

“Kneel, Takaishi,” the Kaiser ordered, leading him to a cushion next to a ornate floating chair. Takeru eyed the simple cushion with suspicion, but obeyed. The cushion was soft beneath his knees and he grudgingly admitted it was comfortable. 

The Kaiser looped the leash around the arm of his chair then sat, crossing one leg over the other. “Now, what shall I work on today?” he said, seemingly to himself rather than Takeru. “So many projects…”

Takeru perked up at that, wondering what else the Kaiser was working on besides conquering the Digital World. An array of screens suddenly appeared in the air before them, the sudden light making Takeru hiss and squeeze his eyes shut.

“Oops, I forgot how blinding they are without tinted lenses,” the Kaiser said, sounding unrepentant. Takeru bit his lip to keep from snapping back, instead slowly blinking the spots from his vision and squinting at the screens. They showed various spots in the Digital World, all with a Dark Tower visible somewhere in the shot. 

The Kaiser proceeded to view different locations, and Takeru realized he was checking his territory. His stomach dropped as the minutes stretched out and the cycle of locations continued, revealing to him the sheer amount of territory the Kaiser had under his control. Some areas the Chosen had freed the previous week had been reclaimed, he was disappointed to see, while others didn’t show up at all.

“This is a map of my empire,” the Kaiser said suddenly, all other screens vanishing as a single large one replaced them. Takeru swallowed hard at the sight of half the Eastern Region shaded in grey, small pockets of white marking sectors Takeru’s group had freed. 

“You meddling insects have caused me some trouble, yes, but you won’t defeat me. I can expand faster than they can destroy my towers, and my slaves vastly outnumber you. Oh, you can struggle all you want, or even run and hide, but it won’t matter in the end. I’ll conquer the Eastern Region and then expand west. First to the central territories, File Island and Server Continent, then on to the Western Region. After those are mine, the Northern and Southern Regions should be easy.”

Takeru was shaking by the time the Kaiser had finished. A mixture of rage and fear was making his stomach churn, and he spat, “You won’t win! You won’t! You--” Electricity jolted through him, cutting off the words, and he doubled over in pain, clawing at the collar around his neck.

“What did I say about disobeying me?” the Kaiser said in a cold tone, rising to stand in front of him. Takeru yelped as he was suddenly grabbed by the hair and his head forced up, staring at the Kaiser as he glared down at Takeru. “No disobedience!” he snarled, giving Takeru’s head a shake. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Knowing that anything other than an apology would result in further punishment, Takeru ground out, “Sorry, Kaiser-sama. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” the Kaiser said coolly, glowering at him for a few more seconds before releasing his hair. Resuming his seat, he said in a calmer tone, “I will conquer the Digital World, and you’ll be right beside me to see it happen.”

Takeru looked down, fingers digging into the pale grey pants of the uniform he had been given. It wouldn’t happen, Daisuke and the others wound rescue him long before that. The Kaiser would never control all of the Digital World. There had to be other Chosen Children aside from them - surely they would help take down the Kaiser. He and Patamon would be rescued, and then he would go home to Yamato and his parents.

\- - -

The day proceeded slowly after that, Takeru silently watching the Kaiser go about his work. From what he could gather, it was mainly about planning territory expansion and reassigning Digimon from one sector to another. Lunch was a tense affair in a room down the hall from the command room, Takeru getting a meal of grilled fish and salad while the Kaiser enjoyed a more luxurious sushi dish.

The afternoon was much the same as the morning, aside from one interruption. A green insect-like Digimon scurried into the room at some point, delivered some paperwork to the Kaiser and immediately left. As the Kaiser grumbled, Takeru stared after the Digimon, struck by the fact that it wasn’t wearing an Evil Ring. Maybe it served the Kaiser without needing to be enslaved?

The Kaiser led Takeru to his bath, and summoned a chair as Takeru turned his back and undressed. “How do you do that?” he asked, breaking the silence between them. The Kaiser may be used to being silent all day, but Takeru wasn’t. Although he found it slightly annoying at school, he now missed Daisuke’s constant chatter.

Takeru could hear the smirk in the Kaiser’s voice as he answered. “It’s simple enough, really. I just manipulate a piece of code to make me whatever I want. In this case, I make myself a chair.”

Takeru pondered that while he washed his hair. He knew the Digital World was made of computer code, that much was clear enough. He also knew it could be manipulated to an extent, since Koshirou had done so in the past. But whatever the Kaiser was doing seemed well beyond that, and he morbidly wondered if Digimon themselves could be altered beyond what the Evil Rings did. 

When he had finished washing himself, he steeled his nerves and went to the bath, aware that the Kaiser was staring at him every step of the way. “You’ve started puberty, I see,” he said dryly as Takeru slid into the water.

He resisted the urge to hunch over and cover himself with his hands, instead staring down at the water. “Jealous?” he muttered, unable to hold the remark back.

“Hardly. I’m quite pleased, actually.” That made Takeru whip his head up and stare at the Kaiser, who just laughed and settled back in his chair. “Is there anyone you like?”

Wondering where in the world this discussion was coming from, Takeru shook his head. “No, not really.”

“No? Not Yagami or Inoe? They both seem pretty cute for being girls, although Inoe’s helmet does detract a bit from her appearance.” Takeru thought Miyako’s helmet looked better than the Kaiser’s ridiculous cloak and tinted glasses, but didn’t respond.

“Or maybe girls aren’t your type?” The Kaiser chuckled lowly when he flushed at the implication. “You and Motomiya seem to get along well.” Takeru raised an eyebrow at that. Sure they were becoming friends, but they weren’t overly close yet. The Kaiser thankfully didn’t bring up Iori, otherwise Takeru would have lost his temper again.

“Or perhaps you like one of the older Chosen? Tell me about them, Takaishi.”

Takeru did so, sketching out the roles they had played during their previous adventure to the Digital World as well as who their partners were and the Crests they held.

“So Kido was the one who was with you earlier this week,” the Kaiser mused when Takeru had finished. “That just leaves Tachikawa as the only older Chosen who hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Her family moved to America last year,” Takeru explained, feeling slightly sick at having given the Kaiser more information about his friends. “I don’t know if a Gate will open for her there, or if she’ll be able to go through it.” 

“So, do you like any of them?”

“No!” Takeru snapped, tired and irritated that the Kaiser kept bringing the matter up. Why did it matter to him who he liked?!

“Defensive, aren’t we?” the Kaiser said softly, twirling the handle of his collar around a finger. “Are you just upset, or are you hiding something from me?”

Seeing that the Kaiser was offering him a way out, Takeru said carefully, “I’m sorry, Kaiser-sama. It’s been a long day and I’m tired. I didn’t mean to get upset.” He did mean it, but he wasn’t about to say that.

The Kaiser nodded and gestured towards the shelf with his clothes. “Dry off so you can go get dinner and relax.”

“Yes, Kaiser-sama,” Takeru murmured, rising from the water and ignoring the way the Kaiser was looking at him. Food sounded like a good idea.

\- - -

Ken was in his room later that night, finalizing the documents that he would send to his base’s server once he was ready to leave this world for good. His preparations were nearly complete - his schedule had been cleared of any public events his foolish parents had scheduled for him, his homework complete, and his room tidied and clothes put away. He was bringing nothing with him to the Digital World aside from himself and the documents he was currently working on. Everything related to Digimon and his role as the Digimon Kaiser would be deleted from his computer. 

Ken smiled with glee. A few more days, and Ichijouji Ken would vanish from this world and Ken, the Digimon Kaiser would take his place as the rightful ruler of the Digital World. He could then expand his empire while the meddling Chosen were toiling away in class or asleep in their beds, and he would have one of their friends with him to witness it all.

Former friend, he amended with a chuckle. No longer was Takaishi Takeru a mere plaything, for he had well and truly captured Ken’s interest. It would take time and careful planning, but he would break the boy down and rebuild him into a worthy servant of the Kaiser. He could use today’s little outburst to his advantage. 

The memory of Takaishi on his knees in front of him, blue eyes wide and watering made a shiver of pleasure go through him. A glance at the time told him that his parents were safely in bed, so Ken opened the nude pictures of his prisoner and leaned back in his chair while unbuttoning his pants. He deserved a reward for all the hard work he had done today. 


	4. Hope, Diminished

Ken spent most of the next few days busy in the Digital World. His empire was ever-expanding, and he made several visits to important sectors to ensure that everything was running smoothly. The rest of his time was spent analyzing Takaishi’s Digivice and the Digimental of Hope, testing the Digimental on a variety of Child Digimon in hopes of using it himself.

He was scowling in the aftermath of another failed test when his useless partner slunk into the room. “Ke--er, Kaiser-sama?” it said hesitantly.

“What?” the Kaiser snapped, in no mood to have a sniveling insect for company.

“There’s a bad storm in front of us, and I was wondering if we should change course or fly through it?”

“You shouldn’t wonder about anything,” Ken said harshly, drumming his fingers on the handle of his whip as he thought. “Change course. Go above the storm or around it.” He doubted his prisoner realized he was in a flying fortress, and he didn’t want to risk the storm alerting him to that.

His partner stammered a goodbye and was halfway out the door when Ken had an idea. Perhaps the Digimental wouldn’t work on a Digimon who wasn’t paired with a Chosen Child. Useless as he was, his partner technically fulfilled that requirement. “Wait,” he called, typing in the course change orders to the base’s piloting system himself. “I need you for an experiment.”

The useless worm shuddered and Ken smirked, pointing towards the testing room that adjoined the lab. “Go in there and do nothing, no matter what happens.”

“Yes Ken--er, Kaiser-sama,” the insect said hurriedly and scuttled into the room. Ken considered the two Digivices in front of him, deciding to start off the test using his own first. “Evolve!” he said, watching black light envelop his partner. The Digimon that emerged was a tall, muscular humanoid insect rather than something resembling its Child stage, and the sight of it made Ken swallow hard. He remembered now, he had seen Wormmon evolve before. 

Not that having Stingmon had helped any, he thought bitterly, shaking his head to banish the painful memory. He had been weak then, and Ryo had [aid the price for his weakness.

Ken devolved the Digimon back into a useless worm, then transferred the Digimental of Hope to his Digivice and held it out. “Digimental Up!” The device glowed yellow, and a matching yellow ball of light consumed his partner, expanding to a larger size before dissipating. “Well, well, how interesting!” Ken said, studying the bull monster intently. Royal blue armour covered most of its body, the plates edged with gold, with matching accents on its hooves and nose. Golden horns curved upwards, and a red cape emblazoned with the Crest of Hope hung from its shoulders. This was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that. It would certainly give the meddling children a shock and strike terror into the Digimon that opposed him. 

Devolving the Armor Digimon, whom his database identified as Bullmon, he tried again with Takaishi’s Digivice, which produced no results. Not overly disappointed, he dismissed his partner and hooked Takaishi’s Digivice and the Digimental up to scanning machines, determined to study the matter further as well as dig into the Digimental’s coding to find a way to ensure his Evil Rings couldn’t be destroyed. 

Leaving the scans to run, he returned to his command room and settled in, intent on planning the next phase of his expansion. An alert sounded as soon as he entered the room and he snarled, annoyed that the Chosen had decided to interrupt his afternoon. He considered sending an army after them, but decided to wait, settling in to simply watch for now.

Twenty minutes later, he was sending for his prisoner. There were two unfamiliar faces with the rest today, and he wanted Takaishi’s input. One was clearly Japanese, while the other was not. Had the Japanese group reached out internationally? If so, he would have to move up his plans.

“Who are they?” he demanded as Takaishi stepped through the door, drawing his attention to the unknown pair.

“Um...oh! The pink-haired girl is Mimi-” The Kaiser winced, finding the pink hair and yellow stars combo offensive to his eyes, even with tinted lenses, “-but I don’t know her friend.”

“Probably an American Chosen,” Ken said sourly as his prisoner knelt on his cushion, the leash attaching itself with a flick of his wrist. 

“Probably,” Takaishi said, sounding annoyed that he was agreeing with Ken on something. “Are you going to attack them?” Now he sounded fearful, and Ken smirked. He hadn’t seen Ken battle the Chosen since he was captured. 

“Perhaps,” Ken answered, deciding to leave him in suspense for now. He would certainly attack the group, he just had to figure out when. A trap had been his initial idea, but he had a better one now. 

Ken watched Takaishi out of the corner of his eye as the children proceeded to have a picnic and gossip. Takaishi’s gaze was fixed on the screen, a mix of longing and sorrow on his face. “How rude,” Ken commented, deciding to bait him. “They’re enjoying themselves when they should be looking for you.”

Takaishi opened his mouth, paused, then shut it again, shooting Ken a glare. Chuckling, he reached out and ran a hand through the boy’s hair, feeling him shudder at his touch. “Good, you’re learning.”

The picnic continued, and when it showed signs of wrapping up, Ken rose and tugged on the leash. “Come, let’s go pay them a visit.”

His prisoner followed quietly, and Ken took him to the hangar an Airdramon was waiting. Ken helped him up onto the beast’s head, then motioned for him to sit. A moment later he had summoned a pair of shackles and a blindfold, smirking when Takaishi recoiled. “Hold still,” was all he said, and was treated to a sullen glower as the metal shackles clicked into place around his wrists. 

Takaishi stiffened further when Ken went to put on the blindfold, making sure to use the opportunity to run a hand through his hair. He then straightened, tapped the Airdramon with his boot, and they were off. He glanced down to make sure Takaishi wasn’t in danger of falling off, finding him gripping Airdramon’s bone-like head armour as best he could. 

“You could always hold onto me, you know.” His prisoner’s reply was lost in the wind, so Ken just stroked his hair again. After ten minutes and a few altitude changes, Ken tugged the blindfold off. “Better?” he asked snidely, getting a jerky nod in return. 

The rest of the flight passed in silence, Ken occasionally checking to make sure the Chosen hadn’t left yet. They seemed to be dawdling, so it was easy enough to catch up to them. 

“Don’t do - or say - anything foolish,” he warned Takaishi. “You won’t be the only one to suffer if you do.” Making sure to have all nearby slaves on standby for an attack, he pulled his prisoner closer to him and looped the leash’s handle around his wrist after shortening the chain, resting his now free hand on Takaishi’s head.

“Enjoying the weather, are we?” he called as Airdramon descended on their clearing.

“Kaiser!” Motomiya cried in anger, his partner mirroring his call.

“Takeru!” Yagami yelled, the rest of the group echoing her. “Let him go!”

Ken surveyed the children beneath him with a smile. “Now why should I do that? He’s been such lovely company lately!” He felt Takaishi shift, and dug his fingers into the boy’s hair.

“Takeru, are you alright?” Motomiya called, gaze flipping between Ken and the boy next to him.

“You may answer,” Ken said quietly when his prisoner hesitated.

“I-I’m alright!” Takaishi said, his answer making the group scowl.

“You’re clearly not alright!” Motomiya exclaimed. “What are you doing to him?” This shout was directed at Ken, who shrugged.

“Nothing. Nothing beyond making sure he obeys me, like any prisoner should.”

“You’re despicable!” Hida spat, voice trembling with emotion, and Ken smirked at him. 

“Congratulations on knowing such a big word. But if you really find me despicable, then I suggest you don’t get captured by me,” he said lazily, sliding his hand down the back of Takaishi’s and using the few moments his hand was blocked from sight to signal for his slaves to quietly advance. He then petted his prisoner’s hair a few more times to mask the previous action, enjoying the way Takaishi shuddered beneath his fingers.

“We’d never be dumb enough to be caught by  _ you _ ,” Inoe sneered, and Ken smiled, delighting in the fact they were doing exactly that. He saw Tailmon’s ear twitch as she heard a sound nearby and decided to focus attention on himself.

Making Airdramon drop a few feet, he continued taunting the fools before him. “You really are fools, though. Putting aside the fact your precious  _ friend _ is with me-” he tugged on Takaishi’s hair to make him raise his head, “-you were having a picnic in  _ my territory _ . Surely if you wanted to relax, you could have found a spot elsewhere?”

The group was silent, looking at each other guiltily. Ken raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response. “Well?” he prompted, both interested in an answer and not wanting the silence to stretch too long lest they heard his approaching slaves.

Tachikawa of the pink hair visibly gathered herself and stepped forward, her partner clinging to her leg. “They chose this spot because of me! We didn’t have the opportunity to choose where the Gate put us, so everyone met here.” The blonde American Chosen nodded in apparent agreement, and Ken made a note to ask Takaishi for more details later.

“How unlucky you ended up here then,” Ken said seeing that his slaves were in place. A low gasp indicated that his prisoner had spotted them too, and his yell of “He’s attacking, run!” came as Ken snapped his fingers.

Pandemonium broke out. Takaishi doubled over with a cut-off scream as Ken sent electricity through his collar. Airdramon lurched upwards at the same time, forcing him to grab onto Ken’s ankle for balance. Enslaved Digimon poured into the clearing to shouts of “Digimental Up!”. Ken added to the lights of evolution by evolving a portion of his slaves from Child to Adult, watching as a newly evolved Devidramon swiped at Hida, sending him crashing into a tree, blood pouring from a wound on his side. 

“Don’t kill them!” Ken snarled into his Digivice, knowing that his order would be transmitted to the Evil Rings. 

“Protect Mimi and Michael!” Motomiya shouted, struggling as several Gotsumon jumped on his back. Ken saw that the two older Chosen were huddled together as their partners fought several of his slaves. He sent more slaves their way, hoping to overwhelm the Child partners with sheer numbers. 

Yagami had managed to get herself and her partner airborne, and Ken was forced to crouch and grab onto Takaishi as his Airdramon twisted out of the way of an attack. A tap of his Digivice called in more aerial Digimon as Nefertimon came around for another attack. Airdramon fired off an attack of his own, and Ken quickly took in the situation. 

Hida was out of the fight, with Armadimon currently curled up and under assault by a pair of RedVeggiemon. Motomiya was now pinned beneath the two Gotsumon, while Fladramon was fighting a losing battle against a group of Fangmon and Gazimon. Inoemon had managed to Armour Evolve her partner into Halsmon, but they were stuck on the ground, boxed in by a trio of Devidramon. 

Buzzing filled the air as a horde of insect Digimon zoomed by, all targeting Yagami. Nefertimon twisted and dove, managing to avoid the close-up physical attacks but unable to dodge the more ranged ones. She cried out as several Flymon stingers embedded themselves along left her side and haunch, and plummeted towards the forest canopy as a Snimon’s Shadow Sickle attack sliced through her wing.

Yagami screamed as Nefertimon devolved and they fell, Takaishi crying out in terror from beside him. Ken sent Flymon after them, not wanting them to hit the ground from such a height. He wanted the Chosen defeated, not dead. He had no desire to see someone die in front of him again. Nodding in approval as a Flymon caught the pair, he turned his attention back to the ground. 

The Chosen had clearly lost, with all of them subdued except for Inoe and her partner. She was yelling what sounded like curses as Holsmon attacked the Digimon surrounding them and Ken smirked as he descended towards her.

“Do I have to knock you all out or not?” he shouted over the din, catching her attention as the Devidramon pulled back slightly. 

“How could you?!” Inoe howled, face red from anger. “Iori might  _ die _ because of you! And Hikari could have as well!”

“Hida’s injuries were an accident,” he replied as Motomiya slammed his fist on the ground in rage.

“You coward! You tricked us!” he cried, voice carrying well despite the rock Digimon atop him.

“I exploited an opportunity,” Ken replied. “You we the ones idiotic enough to linger in enemy territory. Now, will you submit quietly?”

“Hell no!”

“Over my dead body!”

Ken sighed and raised a hand, ready to signal his slaves to keep attacking when Takaishi spoke.

“Daisuke, Miyako, stop!” he begged, and Ken realized he was crying. “Iori is badly hurt, and most of our partners are unconscious and hurt as well. You...you can’t win this fight. Just…” he broke off, a sob tearing through him. “Just stop.  _ Please _ .”

“Takeru-kun is right,” Tachikawa said, her voice trembling as tears slid down her face. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt! Please, don’t fight any more!” She broke down fully, and the American Chosen wrapped an arm around her.

“I will come along quietly,” he said slowly, looking scared out of his mind. Tachikawa nodded, too emotional to speak.

“F-Fine! We surrender!!” Inoe said, Motomiya echoing her words. Both looked angry, but Ken could detect the fear in their expressions. 

Ken nodded, satisfied, and brought up a keyboard to call for more slaves to round up and guard everyone. There was a facility nearby that would serve as a temporary prison, and Ken could retrofit it while everyone recovered. 

\- - -

Hida was the first prisoner to be taken away, followed by Yagami and several of the more injured Digimon. The rest were sent on once Ken got word that the others were secure and being treated, and the sun was setting by the time they headed back to his base. 

Throughout it all, Takaishi had remained silent, and he seemed torn between rage and grief every time Ken looked at him. But he had the good sense not to lash out, and remained still when Ken put the blindfold back on. 

The flight back was quiet, and Ken spent most of it thinking on how to punish Takaishi. The shock collar clearly wasn’t enough, although it certainly had its time and place. He needed something more severe, yet not harmful enough to permanently injure or maim his prisoner. Heavy manual labour was an option, but that’s what his slaves were for. He needed something more impactful.

“You disobeyed me, Takaishi,” he said once they were back in the hangar and the blindfold removed. “I have too many things to do tonight, but I will punish you tomorrow.”

“What, seeing my friends badly injured and captured isn’t enough punishment?” he said bitterly, glaring at Ken.

“No, it’s not,” Ken said coldly. “I’ll overlook your rudeness since you’re clearly emotional, but you better be well-behaved tomorrow.”

Musyamon entered the room, and Ken unclipped the leash from his prisoner’s collar. The shackles would remain until Takaishi reached his bath. “Go have a bath and reflect on your actions,” he said, deciding to withhold dinner for tonight. 

“Yes, Kaiser-sama,” Takaishi muttered, turning and following the Musyamon out. Ken sighed and considered the amount of work he had left to do. He had a long night ahead of him, but first he needed to put an appearance in at dinner. Tomorrow, he resolved. Tomorrow he would leave the human world behind.


	5. Hope, Punished

Takeru lay curled up on his bed, throat raw and eyes burning after a night of little sleep and lots of crying. He didn’t care if the Kaiser mocked him for his tears. He was more concerned about his friends. Everyone captured, and he was partly to blame.

He didn’t mind that his friends had held a picnic with Mimi and her friend - Daisuke and the others deserved to relax when they could, and he was sure Mimi had been dying to see Palmon agan. He was happy that she was friends with an American Chosen Child, since it confirmed his belief that there was Chosen outside of Japan who could fight the Kaiser.

Assuming they didn’t get captured the minute they set foot in the Digital World. Takeru shivered and curled up tighter as memories of the battle played in his mind. He should have spotted the enslaved Digimon sooner. He should have insisted Hikari and the rest leave as soon as they saw him. They had stayed because they had been worried about him, and the Kaiser had used that to his advantage. 

He sniffled, thoughts turning to Iori. He desperately hoped the younger boy was okay. The injury to his side had looked terrible, but the Kaiser had made sure he received prompt medical care as soon as the battle was over. That had surprised him, since his captor seemed to favour cruelty more often than not. But he had ordered the enslaved Digimon not to kill anyone…

It didn’t matter what the reasons were behind the Kaiser’s behavior. Iori had still been seriously hurt because of Takeru. Hikari could have suffered the same fate, or worse, if the Kaiser’s Flymon hadn’t caught her and Tailmon. He shuddered in horror, remembering the sound of her scream as she plummeted towards the ground. She had been fighting the Kaiser to save him instead of trying to escape. He desperately wished she hadn’t, but he knew she wasn’t the type to leave him in enemy hands without attempting to rescue him.

The door at the end of the cell block opened and footsteps approached. Takeru lifted his head slightly, wondering if it was time for the Kaiser’s promised punishment, but it was only a humanoid Digimon he didn’t recognize with breakfast. “Eat,” the creature ordered, pushing the tray through a flap set into the bars. Takeru hesitated, unwilling to eat anything if he was going to be hurt later, but his stomach growled in protest.

Sighing, he slowly got up and went over to the tray, sitting in front of it as the Digimon settled against the bars of cell opposite him. Breakfast proved to be a dish of rice porridge and a cup of cold water, and he picked at it while studying his apparent guard. 

“What species of Digimon are you?” he asked, deciding to blatantly ignore the ‘no talking to enslaved Digimon’ rule. He was going to be punished anyway. The Digimon was taller than him and was pale green with a light yellow chest and chin, and wore pale purple trousers. Three dark stripes rippled across each muscular shoulder, and there was a massive blade strapped to its back, with more blades protruding from the gauntlets on its wrists. 

“I am Dinohumon,” the Digimon murmured after a moment. “I am one of the elite guards for this base.”

“I see,” Takeru said softly between mouthfuls. He was surprised Dinohumon had answered at all, given how the enslaved Digimon seemed to ignore him unless addressing him directly. “Thank you,” he added, deciding to be polite. He ate and drank what he could manage in silence, then pushed the tray back to the flap and moved to sit on his bed. He was tempted to lay down again, but the entrance of the Kaiser prevented that. 

His captor stalked in shortly after Dinohumon had left, his scowl deepening at the sight of Takeru. He wondered what had put the Kaiser in such a bad mood, but instead asked, “How’s Iori-kun?”

“Asleep and healing. He’s not going to die, no thanks to you!” was the snapped reply. Takeru breathed a sigh of relief but remained tense as the Kaiser paced in front of his cell. He seemed twitchy and upset, which didn’t bode well for Takeru. 

“They got caught because of you,” the Kaiser sneered after a minute. 

Takeru swallowed hard and nodded. “I know,” he admitted quietly. Everyone would insist it wasn’t his fault, but he knew it was true.

“You disobeyed me, Takaishi.” The Kaiser stopped pacing and turned towards him, and Takeru could feel his burning gaze even with a pair of tinted glasses in front of his eyes. Takeru had to swallow again because his mouth had gone bone dry. The Kaiser wasn’t just on the verge of one of his temper tantrums, he was well and truly angry. 

The Kaiser unlocked the cell and stepped inside, a short metal rod appearing in his hand from beneath his cloak. Takeru eyed it nervously, not having expected a beating. “What do you have to say for yourself?” the captor asked in a low tone that made his blood freeze.

“I...I don’t regret it,” he said, voice breaking slightly as he lifted his chin in defiance. “They’re my _friends_. I wasn’t about to just sit there and not do anything!”

The rod in the Kaiser’s hand suddenly moved, and Takeru suppressed a flinch as something hit his cheek. It was a retractable whip, he realized, feeling the side of his face start to burn. His fingers came away bloody when he pressed his hand to the spot, and Takeru couldn’t help but smirk at the Kaiser. “If this is how you treat people, I bet you’ve never had any friends.”

The Kaiser’s face went white, the red. “You have no idea who I am!” he snarled, slashing the whip across Takeru’s chest. He sucked in a painful breath, but held still. “You have no idea what I’ve been through!” A heavy blow slammed into his stomach, and Takeru doubled over as the air rushed from his lungs.

“This is my world! MINE! And I can do what I wish to it!” The next blow cut across Takeru’s left shoulder and neck, and he stumbled. Maybe taunting him had been a mistake. “What right have you to charge in and defend this world?”

“I helped save it before--” was all Takeru managed to say before pain slashed across his shoulders and he dropped to his knees.

“Did you really save it?” the Kaiser snarled, blows coming freely as he continued to rage. “Or did you leave it ripe for the pickings for another evil Digimon? Or do you not remember being captured right before Christmas three years ago?”

Takeru’s head spun, both from the pain and the suddenness of the shift in topic. “I...I remember,” he wheezed out during a pause. He _did_ remember, now that he had been reminded of that time. A powerful evil Digimon had appeared, and Taichi and the rest of them had been called in to defeat it. They had ended up prisoners, and a new Chosen Child had managed to defeat the Digimon with the help of all their partners. But how did the Kaiser know about that?

“You recall the boy who saved you?” Takeru nodded slowly, trying to think through the pain. What had been his name? Kyo? Ryuu? No, not quite.

“Ryo!” he breathed, remembering the boy’s bashful smile as Takeru after being rescued.

“Yes, _Ryo_ ,” the Kaiser spat. “He was my friend, and now he’s gone because you and the others were too _weak_ to fight Millenniummon!” Takeru was trying to make sense of that when the whip cut down his back again. “But I’m getting distracted. You’ve been nothing but disobedient even after I warned you what would happen. That stops now!”

Takeru huddled on the floor as the blows rained down upon him, the pain so great he barely even noticed when the shocks began to make his limbs twitch or when his control broke and he started screaming. As he fell towards unconsciousness, the hazily wondered what happened to a human who died in the Digital World.

\- - -

Ken was starting to hate infirmaries. He frowned at he stared down at the raw and bleeding back of his prisoner, watching as medically-trained slaves worked to stabilize him and bandage his wounds. Maybe he had gone overboard a bit. Just slightly. Hida’s side had looked in better shape than his prisoner’s back was now. 

Still, it was Takaishi’s own fault Ken had gone so far. He had taunted Ken about Ryo, and Ken wasn’t going to let anyone mock the precious memories of his dear friend. While Ryo’s disappearance couldn’t be laid directly at Takaishi’s feet, he was still part of the reason why Ryo had to face Millenniummon alone. 

Shaking off the memories, Ken saw that his slaves had the situation under control. Deciding to work on one of his many projects, he left the infirmary and went to one of his labs.

The sight of five Digimentals lined up in a row made him smile slightly, and he checked the tests that he had let run overnight. All showed similar results; the five Digimentals were virtually identical in terms of base coding and function, and they gave a Child-level Digimon a form superior in strength to the average Adult level but not quite reaching a Perfect Digimon’s strength. 

It was interesting, he mused as he dug through the more complex bits of coding. Adult Digimon that resulted from Digivice evolution could break his towers, while those who had achieved that level on their own could not. Armor Digimon were a step above them, being able to destroy Evil Rings as well as Dark Towers. He assumed Perfect Digimon could do the same. He had always made sure to put an Evil Ring on any he encountered, even though they proved too wild to be controlled properly. He would have to look into that at some point. 

Switching out the Digimentals for the four Digivices he had not yet scanned, he went to store all of them in his Digivice and growled when he got an error message upon trying to put the second one in. “Well, we can’t have that!” he said, summoning several Gazimon to carry the Digimentals as he made his way to his control room. He’d simply have to edit his Digivice so they could all fit. 

\- - -

Several hours later, he had the five Digimentals safely stored in his Digivice and was back looking at their coding when an alarm sounded. “What now?!” he snarled as his useless partner hurried in. 

“All the older Chosen have entered through a Gate!” the insect bleated, sounding panicked. 

“Where are they?” Ken asked, sending out an alert that put all his slaves on standby.

“Sector E-17, less than ten kilometres away!”

Ken raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. It wasn’t like they were actually on his doorstep or anything. “What should we do?” the worm asked, looking helpless as Ken rose and turned towards it.

“ _I_ will go deal with them. _You_ will stay here and monitor the prisoners.” Ken aimed a kick at the insect as he strode by, making him scuttle out of the way.

“Of course, Ken-chan!”

Ken snarled and snapped his whip over his shoulder at the bug as he went towards the hanger. What would it take for the worm to stop calling him that? Ken-chan was the child who had been too sick to help his friend fight an evil Digimon. Ken-chan had been the one to cause his brother’s death. Ken was no longer weak, and he was the one who controlled everything. 

His mood hadn’t improved by the time the Airdramon reached the gathered Chosen. They were clustered around a tv set, partners by their side, and all looked grim. The blonde he identified as Takaishi’s brother looked especially haggard. Ken smirked, impressed that he was in such a state after just a week of his brother being imprisoned.

“Where’s my brother, you bastard?!” were the first words out of Ishida’s mouth. 

Ken’s smirk widened, and he spread his hands. “Not here, obviously. Why? Do you plan on joining him?”

Yagami’s older brother had to restrain him and he made to lunge forward, although since Ken was well out of his reach, he didn’t see the point of the move. 

“Yamato, don’t! He’s trying to provoke you!” the shorter red-headed male said as the group’s leader wrestled Ishida back under control. It took a moment, but Ken identified him as Izumi.

“Where are they?” Leader Yagami asked, Ken deciding to refer to him like that to avoid mental confusion over the Yagami siblings.

“Locked away, far from here,” Ken replied. It was technically true - the Chosen he had captured yesterday were on the far side of the location his base was currently at, and his fortress was moving ever-farther away from this sector with each passing minute. 

“That’s not an answer!” Ishida snarled in fury.

“Yes it is,” Ken replied blandly. “If you want a better answer, ask a better question.”

“How is everyone?” the lone girl - Takenouchi, he reminded himself - asked.

“See? She knows how to be intelligent!” he said with a sneer. “Everyone’s alive, if a bit roughed up.” He felt no need to cause a panic by revealing Hida and Takaishi’s current injuries. Lifting his chin, he spoke before they could ask more stupid questions. “So, you powerless fools, why are you here?”

Leader Yagami and Ishida both shouted in outrage, but the eldest boy’s voice rose over them. “To get them back, of course!”

“And how are you going to accomplish that?” Ken asked. Their Child partners couldn’t evolve, not within a Dark Tower’s radius, and they were many sectors away from a place with no tower. 

The group fell silent. The two brothers both seemed to be struggling to speak, so Kido spoke for them. “What do you want, Kaiser?”

“That’s _Kaiser-sama_ to you,” Ken muttered, but didn’t press the point. “For you to leave,” he said in a louder tone.

Kido sighed, rolled his eyes and rephrased his question. “What do you want in exchange for our friends and their partners?”

Ken considered the question. He could demand something impossible, or he could ask for something more reasonable. But there was one thing he truly wanted from them. “For everyone to leave the Digital World and never return,” he said at last. 

“But we can’t just abandon the Digital World!” Ishida burst out.

“You will, or you will one day join your precious little brother in serving me,” Ken said flatly, wishing he could whip Ishida into silence. 

“Takeru would NEVER serve you!” Ishida roared.

“None of us would!” Leader Yagami added, looking furious at the implication.

“Is that so?” Ken turned slightly and called up a keyboard, typing in several commands on a screen before a larger translucent screen appeared in front of the angry Chosen. “See for yourself, fools.”

Video then played of Takaishi sitting with Ken, of him following Ken around and eating meals with the Kaiser, of Takaishi saying “Yes, Kaiser-sama.”

Ishida was pale and shaking by the time the screen vanished, and most of the others looked either furious or slightly ill. “Takeru would never--he would never--he just wouldn’t!” Ishida shouted incoherently. 

“But he _has_ ,” Ken pressed, grinning in triumph. He was certain this morning’s punishment would help drive home that Takaishi was completely _his_ , and his alone. Disobeying Ken was not an option.

“Please,” Takenouchi begged, hands clasped to his chest, “Please let them go!”

“Only if you agree to leave for good.”

Ken watched the group huddle together, both humans and Digimon giving opinions. He tapped a foot impatiently as the minutes stretched on and small arguments broke out, mainly centred around the ‘leave for good’ part of the deal. Finally everyone turned towards him, and Leader Yagami took a deep breath.

“We agree on the condition that all our partners come with us,” he said, voice shaking with emotion. Ken frowned, not liking the thought of losing so many valuable slaves, but nodded. 

“Very well. I’ll release them-” grins broke out on humans and Digimon alike, “-but not today.”

“Why not?” Kido demanded as most of the others howled in protest. 

“Because they have been an irritant for the past month,” Ken said with a pleasant smile. “Here’s the deal: I keep them for a month, the same amount of time they pestered me for, then you get them back.”

“No!”

“That’s way too long, you bastard!”

Ken shrugged, waiting until the shouts of protest died down before speaking. “It’s either that, or you never see them again. It should be a simple choice for you, really.”

All of the Chosen looked horrified as they huddled together for another meeting, and they looked miserable when they broke up a few minutes later.

“We...We agree,” Leader Yagami said slowly, looking like his heart was breaking.

“Excellent!” It felt wonderful to have people at his mercy like this, and if nothing else, this exchange had improved his mood.

“Where will the transfer take place?” Izumi asked, brows furrowed.

“I will inform you of that later, via those handheld computers. You have access to one, yes?” At Izumi’s hurried nod, he continued, “Then I shall send you the meeting coordinates then.”

“You better not touch a hair on Takeru’s head before then!” Ishida shouted, the other Chosen and Digimon making similar statements about the imprisoned humans.

“Oh, don’t you worry, Ishida. I won’t lay a finger on your precious brother,” Ken promised with a smirk. It was a promise he intended to keep, too.

“Now, unlike you, I have things to do. Appear in the Digital World before a month has passed, and you’ll get a very warm welcome from my slaves.” Leaving the group with that warning and a menacing smile, Ken directed his Airdramon back to base. He still had to arrange his new quarters to his satisfaction, then he’d check up on his new prisoners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dinohumon has been a fav of mine since Digimon World 3, and one played a notable role in one of the Digimon Frontier movies. The two knight-like Digimon with him are PawnChessmon Black and White, who first showed up in Digimon Savers/Data Squad.


	6. Hope, Alone

Takeru’s awareness returned slowly. He didn’t hurt, not exactly. He was more numb than anything else. A part of him was surprised that he had woken up at all, but the greater part of his mind urged him to go back to sleep. Which he did, grateful for the opportunity to not have to keep thinking.

The next time he woke up he was more aware. He was lying on his stomach, and he could feel bandages wrapped around him from shoulders to waist. His back was throbbing slightly, but it was a distant pain, dulled no doubt by whatever painkillers the Digital World had. 

Groggily, he remembered that Hikari had taken medicine the time she had fallen ill in the Digital World. That meant that Digimon must take medication, although that made him wonder about the nature of illnesses here. Were they literally computer viruses? If so, how did they affect humans who entered the Digital World? Or were they seperate creatures entirely, like the viruses that made humans sick?

He was still pondering this when he fell back to sleep, and his dreams were filled with giant viruses attacking Takeru, being spurred on by a whip-swinging Digimon Kaiser. 

\- - -

When Takeru woke next, he was on his back. He shifted slightly, pleased to find that aside from a few twinges, his back felt pretty good. He looked around the infirmary, finding it darkened and quiet. The samurai Digimon stood by the door, red eyes glowing eerily in the dimly lit room. Takeru shifted again, realizing nature was calling. 

He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but only a wordless rasp came out. It was enough to catch his guard’s attention, and it walked over to him. “Bathroom?” it asked quietly, and Takeru nodded. The samurai monster was gentle as it helped him sit up and then stand, walking slowly next to him as Takeru stumbled to the bathroom.

He tried not to linger, but it still took him a few minutes to do what he wanted, wash his face, and rinse out his mouth. Takeru rubbed his throat worriedly, wondering if the shock collar had damaged his vocal cords or if his screaming had done something. Takeru then stared at his reflection in the mirror, tracing the bandage on his cheek with a finger before leaving the bathroom.

His guard led him back to bed then returned to stand by the door, leaving Takeru to stare at the ceiling. 

He must have been unconscious for days, perhaps even longer. Were his friends ok? Was Iori healing well? Had any rescue attempts been made? His thoughts started to spin and he gasped for air, rolling onto his side. If anything had happened, it was his fault. The others had been caught in a trap because of him, and being beaten half to death by the Kaiser wasn’t nearly enough to ease or erase his guilt. 

A sob caught in his throat as the memory of Iori’s side being torn open by a Devidramon played through his mind, followed by Hikari’s expression as Nefertimon crumpled beneath her and they both started to fall from the sky. If the Kaiser had truly wanted them dead, they would be. Their deaths would have been on Takeru’s shoulders - the enslaved Digimon weren’t to blame, since they were just following the Kaiser’s orders, and the Kaiser himself couldn’t have foresee exactly how the battle would go. And Takeru had done nothing but watch. 

He curled up, ignoring the lines of pain that flared across his shoulders and down his back. It didn’t feel like he was bleeding, so it was fine. Even if his wounds had opened, he deserved to suffer for placing his friends in such a dangerous situation. His tears started again, and his thoughts circled between his friends and what the Kaiser might do to them, guilt surging through him all the while. 

\- - -

Takeru was moved back to his cell after breakfast, led there by the samurai Digimon and a pair of small knight Digimon who were identical except one was black and the other was white. He waited uneasily for the Kaiser to appear, probably to mock him or perhaps to continue his punishment, but the self-styled ruler of the Digital World never came. 

His evening meal was delivered by V-mon, an Evil Ring around his throat and eyes glowing crimson.  _ No _ , Takeru mouthed, still unable to talk. 

V-mon stared at him as he pushed the tray of food into his cell. “I thought we were friends, Takeru! How could you let the Kaiser catch us?”

What little appetite he had vanished at V-mon’s words. Takeru shook his head mutely, wanting to explain but having no idea what he would say even if he could speak. All his prior excuses seemed pathetic now. A tiny part of his brain insisted that it was the Kaiser’s fault, but would his friends say the same now that he had gotten them captured?

Takeru picked at his meal while V-mon watched, Daisuke’s partner taking the tray away with a, “You should have done something, Takeru.”

Takeru collapsed back on his bed, wincing as his back complained. Flipping onto his stomach, he buried his head in his pillow. The Kaiser must still be furious, and he was no doubt planning further punishments.

\- - -

Ken watched Takaishi drift off to sleep, extremely pleased with how the day had gone. The early morning panic attack had been unexpected, but it was a sign that his prisoner was deeply shaken. Takaishi had proceeded to be uneasy and miserable all day, and Ken had given his fragile mental state another shock by sending an accusatory V-mon to deliver dinner. 

All the imprisoned Japanese Chosen had been in isolation cells for the past five days, and they would stay that way for the next month unless he decided to try and break any of them aside from Takaishi. The American Chosen Child had been sent back home along with his partner, under strict instructions never to return. He suspected the boy would spread the news to his fellow Chosen, and hopefully the fear of lifelong imprisonment would make them stay away. 

The effects of Ken’s actions were spreading as well. Several news outlets had posted articles on the websites about the mysterious disappearance of five Odaiba schoolchildren, but the stories were buried beneath articles about Ichijouchi Ken’s sudden disappearance. No one had yet publicly connected the two cases, but he was sure both the police and reporters were considering them related.

Ken smirked. “You will never find me!” he murmured in delight, trying to imagine what his parents were doing now that their precious genius was gone. He didn’t particularly care what happened to them, or how the relatives of the captured Chosen must be feeling. 

“Fools,” Ken sneered, turning his attention to the various children now in his grasp. A glance through the cameras in their cells showed most looking either upset or bored, and Hida was still in the prison’s infirmary. He would recover eventually, but he would always bear a row of scar across his ribs and stomach. 

His main focus was still Takaishi. He planned to keep the boy in isolation for a month, visited only by the enslaved partners of the other Chosen Children. After a month of no human contact and plagued by the evidence of his helplessness and past failures, he should be willing to see reason and join Ken. 

In the meantime, Ken had experiments to conduct and research to do. He was going to use the month to vastly expand his empire as well as dig into what exactly made the Digimon partners of the Chosen Children so special. 

Ken chuckled and settled back into his chair. Once he finished work for the night, he would go to his quarters and enjoy himself. A month without Takaishi’s company was a long time, but he had more than enough footage to keep himself occupied with in the meantime.

\- - -

Three days into his new routine, Takeru concluded the Kaiser wasn’t going to come back. He was still being fed and allowed to wipe himself down with a wet cloth in lieu of a bath due to his injured back, but his guards never spoke to him outside of giving orders. His breakfast had been dropped off by Hawkmon, who coldly informed him that he had no honour and that his past behaviour was unacceptable. 

The afternoon brought a change. The Dinohumon he had met before ushered him from his cell and down the hall, the same two small knight Digimon leading the way. “Where am I going?” Takeru asked hoarsely, voice finally starting to recover.

“To the infirmary for a final checkup,” Dinohumon informed him. Takeru tensed at the word ‘final’ wondering what it meant. Was he being moved? Or had the Kaiser decided he was useless and was disposing of him? Anxiety churned in his stomach as he was led into the infirmary, where he was met by a trio of Gazimon and a orange feline Digimon with fire curling from its tail and middle of its forehead. 

His guards settled by the door as the feline Digimon directed him to a low stool and then went to work checking his back. “How does it look?” he asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“It is healing well,” the feline said, moving around to peel the bandage from his cheek. “The inflammation is gone, and there are no signs of infection. Scars will remain, however.” Takeru nodded, having expected that. He doubted the Kaiser would have beaten him so much if he didn’t want Takeru to scar. At least his injuries hadn’t been life-threatening. 

He rubbed at his cheek, the skin itching now that it was exposed to the air, but stopped when the Digimon tending him grabbed his wrist. “Scratching will worsen the scarring,” it said, claws digging slightly into his skin to emphasize the point. Takeru nodded and let his shoulders slump at the thought of enduring the itching until his wounds healed.

\- - -

A week into his apparent permanent captivity, Takeru was starting to go stir crazy. His back was itching constantly and that combined with the reality he had nothing to do had made him start pacing. Moving around helped, but the limited space sucked. At least when he was with the Kaiser, he could watch him work.

Takeru halted at the thought. “No, no, no!” he said firmly, shaking his head. “I don’t like spending time with him. I don’t want to spend time with him. This is fine!”

He did not want to voluntarily spend time with the Kaiser. He would never want to voluntarily spend time with the Kaiser. 

Even so...Takeru rubbed at the collar around his neck. He hadn’t been shocked once since waking up in the infirmary. He didn’t know how far the radius on the collar’s remote control was, but it made him wonder if the Kaiser was even still in the same base as him.

Dropping onto his bed, Takeru frowned at the ceiling. The Kaiser hadn’t been defeated somehow, since no one had showed up to rescue him. So that meant his empire was still running. Maybe he was busy dealing with Daisuke and the others.

Takeru swallowed hard at the reminder that his friends had been caught because of him, and his stomach twisted with guilt. “You guys have to be alright. You just have to be!” he murmured, overwhelmed with loneliness. He missed his mother, who had to be frantic with worry by now. He missed Yamato, who he was finally starting to reconnect with. He missed the warmth of Patamon’s fur against his skin, and the chirp of “Good morning, Takeru!” that had started his days. He missed having Daisuke and Hikari by his side during the day, and meeting up with Miyako and Iori after school. 

“I want to go home!” he whispered brokenly, homesickness crashing down upon him. He wanted to go home with Patamon and all his friends, where they would be safe and not have to fight anyone. 

\- - -

Isolation had been the best punishment for Takaishi, Ken decided two weeks into the procedure. By now, everyone had broken down at least once, especially after his five newer prisoners were visited by their enslaved partners. In the meantime, he had been rotating them in and out of fighting, experimenting with the various Digimentals to find powerful and useful combinations. 

Ken smiled as he entered one of the testing facilities scattered throughout his empire. He had discovered something very interesting regarding Patamon and Tailmon, and wanted to investigate it further. Stepping into the lab where the two Digimon waited, he ordered Tailmon into the reinforced testing room as various screens flickered to life. “Devolve!” he said, holding out his Digivice.

Tailmon glowed and reverted to a small white puppy Digimon, although it lacked the golden ring that the species usually wore around its neck. “Evolve!” he ordered, smile widening as dark light surrounded the puppy. The black cat that emerged was identical to Tailmon, but sported black fur with purple markings. Ken knew that regular Black Tailmon had golden eyes, but this ones’ were obviously crimson thanks to the Evil Ring. 

“Evolve again!” he said, feeling his Digivice start to vibrate at the screen glowed black. Similar light wrapped around the cat, and the sphere of light was slashed apart moments later by a feminine Digimon dressed in black with matching tattered wings. 

“Lady Devimon, how nice,” Ken said dryly as the Digimon lashed out at the reinforced walls of the room. Spiderweb cracks had started to form by the time it ran out of energy and reverted to its puppy Child stage. 

Two Goblimon hurried in and removed the unconscious Digimon, then Ken motioned Patamon through the door. He had done some research into Takaishi’s previous time into the Digital World, and discovered something that he was sure would be the final thing needed to break Takaishi.

“Evolve!” he cried, grinning as he watched Patamon be consumed by black light. The long-limbed angel that rose from the light made him laugh as he thought about how Takaishi would react. 

Ending the experiment, he walked out of the facility with Patamon following behind like the loyal slave he was. He would keep Patamon in reserve until just before he had to give the five he had captured back, and then he would make Takaishi  _ his _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coronamon is the Digimon that tended to Takeru's wounds. He appeared in Digimon Xros Wars/Fusion, and was the mascot Digimon for the Digimon World Dawn DS game.


	7. Hope, Broken

Takeru lay listlessly on his bed, arms wrapped around himself. He had lost track of time. He had no idea how long he had been in here, except that his back and cheek had healed as much as they were going to. Every day, one of his friends’ partners would visit him. All except Patamon. He was beginning to forget the sound of his partner’s voice. Of everyone’s voices.

Daisuke, Hikari Iori and Miyako had to hate him by now. Iori especially. Their partners certainly did, blaming him for their enslavement and servitude to the Kaiser. And so they should. If Takeru hadn’t gotten captured in the first place, none of this would have happened. 

“It’s all my fault,” he murmured to the ceiling.

“Yes, it is. I’m glad you finally realize that.” Takeru blinked, somehow not surprised to hear the Kaiser’s voice. He thought he had heard the voices of his former friends and family whispering to him before, telling them all the reasons he was no longer wanted or loved. 

“Come on now, it’s time to get up,” the Kaiser’s voice said crossly, and suddenly the Kaiser was standing over him, familiar frown on his face. 

“...Kaiser-sama…?” Takeru murmured. Visions were new. But didn’t people held in long-term isolation like him start to see things? Maybe he had just hit that point. He didn’t mind imagining the Kaiser. It was better than seeing Yamato’s disappointed face or Iori’s hate-filled one.

“Get. Up.” Takeru flinched as a mild shock went through his collar, and that was enough to prove the Kaiser really was in his cell. 

“Sorry, Kaiser-sama!” Takeru said, scrambling to sit up as the leash formed and hung between them. “I thought…” he broke off, uncertain of continuing.

“What did you think?” the Kaiser said softly, sounding genuinely interested.

“I thought that you had abandoned me,” Takeru said, dropping his gaze to stare at his hands. He never would have thought he would care whether the Kaiser liked him or not, but he had found himself missing the Kaiser’s company, especially recently. 

“Abandon you? Never!” the Kaiser murmured, and Takeru couldn’t hold back a whimper of pleasure as gloved fingers ran through his hair. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to be touched until he had been separated from the Kaiser, and now he craved it. 

“I’ve just been very busy dealing with the other Chosen,” the Kaiser went on, Takeru leaning into his touch as his fingers continued to comb through his hair. “A deal has been made, for me to release them as long as they agree to not return.”

“That’s great!” Relief flooded through him at the news. Hikari and the others must be fine, if the Kaiser was going to release them. They didn’t deserve to be held prisoner like him.

“I’m glad you approve,” the Kaiser said, amusement filling his tone. “However, you will be staying with me.”

Takeru stiffened. “Why?” he whispered. He wanted to go home, to see Yamato and his parents again, to hold Patamon close.

“Why?” the Kaiser echoed, the fingers in his hair stilling and tightening. Slowly, Takeru’s head was raised until their eyes met. “Because you  _ have nowhere else to go _ ,” he hissed. “Surely you’ve realized your former friends don’t want you back? That their partners hate you? That your brother and the older Chosen think you weak and a coward for getting yourself and the others captured?”

Takeru had hunched his shoulders after the first sentence, but was careful not to pull away completely. The Kaiser was right, of course. They both knew it, so there was no point denying it. Tears filled his eyes, but he blinked them back. He was sick of crying.

The Kaiser’s expression softened slightly, and his hand slid down to cup Takeru’s scarred cheek. “Now, now, don’t cry,” he murmured, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. “You’ll stay here with me, and I’ll take care of you as long as you serve me faithfully.”

“Serve you?” Takeru distantly remembered swearing never to serve the Kaiser back when he had first been captured. Part of his still balked at the thought of serving the Kaiser, but what else could he do? How could he tell his mother that he was responsible for his friends nearly dying? That their beloved partners have been enslaved because of him?

“Not quite convinced, are we? Surely you don’t think your friends will try and rescue you again?”

Takeru considered the idea. “I don’t know,” he admitted slowly. Before, he would have said that of course they would keep fighting the Kaiser. Daisuke, Miyako and Iori wouldn’t have given up. Hikari might have convinced them not to rush blindly in, but now...Iori’s injury might have changed his mind, and he knew the Kaiser would have tried to persuade the others like he had tried to do to Takeru. He didn’t know if the Chosen were still willing to fight. He certainly wasn’t.

The Kaiser twitched on the leash, pulling him from his thoughts. “Come, I have a surprise for you,” he said, and Takeru followed him out of the cell.

\- - -

Takaishi was close, oh so close to becoming Ken’s. One final show of force, a few well-picked words, and his resolve would crumble. He seemed convinced that his friends despised him, which was so far from true it was laughable. Even now, after a month in captivity, the foolish children seemed intent on rescuing their friend. 

He led Takaishi to the hallway he had reached on his escape attempt two months prior. His prisoner seemed content to follow quietly, and Ken revelled in the satisfaction that Takaishi was finally obeying him. Takaishi seemed to recognize the corridor, for he looked more alert than before when Ken turned to look at him after reaching the door of the lab.

“I expect you to behave, Takaishi,” he said, reaching out and stroking the curved scar on the boy’s cheek. It had healed nicely, leaving just a faint crescent mark instead of an ugly blotch. It suited Takaishi, somehow. 

Takaishi nodded, making the chain leash jingle. “Yes, Kaiser-sama.”

“Good boy,” Ken praised, facing forward and leading him into the room. It was one of his standard labs, but he doubted Takaishi noticed any of it, for his prisoner gasped at the sight of his partner sitting in the middle of the room. The leash in Ken’s hand jingled as Takaishi took a step forward, but he went no farther than that.

“P-Patamon? That’s my Patamon, right?”

Ah, so he knew that a Chosen Child’s partner wasn’t unique only to them. Ken had encountered several colonies of Patamon, but he found them more useful in their various Adult forms than their Child levels.

“Yes, that is your partner,” Ken replied, smiling as he watched Takaishi struggle with his emotions. It was clear he wanted to embrace Patamon, but he had learned enough not to do anything so foolish without permission. 

“Did you know I can evolve any Digimon with my Digivice?” Ken asked pleasantly, enjoying the growing look of unease that appeared on Takaishi’s face. “I found out something very interesting when I evolved Patamon before,” he continued on almost absently, taking out his Digivice. “I believe you’ll recognize his new form.”

Takaishi simply stared as Ken held out his black Digivice. “Evolve!” 

Like before, black light surrounded Patamon, growing in size before it burst apart to reveal the fallen angel Digimon. 

“NO!” Takaishi shouted, shaking in obvious terror as he stared at what his partner had become. “Impossible....Devimon?!”

“Yes, Devimon,” Ken confirmed ruthlessly as Takaishi fell to his knees, a hand clamped to his mouth. “Please try not to be ill,” he muttered, frowning in disgust. He’d rather his prisoner faint than throw up.

“D...Devimon…” Takaishi mumbled, blue eyes wide in horror. “H-How? Where’s Angemon?”

“I can’t seem to evolve any Digimon into a holy Digimon,” Ken said with a shrug. He didn’t particularly care, since he prefered the other forms. Seeing that Takaishi had recovered enough not to be ill on his boots, he crouched down next to him. “Do you understand now? Your partner is forever corrupted, even if it were to evolve into Angemon again somehow. Would your so-called friends accept him back if they found out?”

“Taichi...Taichi-san forced Agumon to Dark Evolve and everyone accepted it,” Takaishi said weakly, gaze still fixed on his partner.

Ken shook his head, affixing a sad smile. “But that was  _ his _ mistake.  _ I’m _ the one who caused Patamon to become this. Even if your friends forgave you for getting them captured and hurting Hida, would they really fully trust you and Patamon after I’ve tainted him like this?”

“I...Maybe? Onii-chan would defend us...” Takaishi was wavering. Ken just needed one final reason to push him over the edge. 

“Would he? If your brother was really so loyal, why hasn’t he offered to trade places with you, or surrender his partner for yours. No, Takaishi. He’s left you behind. He’s probably glad to be free of you and all your mistakes.”

Takaishi bent over and clutched at his hair, tears streaming down his face. “Onii-chan...would never…” he gasped out, but Ken could see he didn’t believe it himself. 

“He already has,” Ken said simply. “Even if you returned to him, returned to all of them, they would always be suspicious of you and your motives. ‘What if he betrays us to the Kaiser again?’ they’ll whisper to each other. ‘What if Devimon’s influence turns them both evil?’ ‘What if his actions lead to someone getting killed next time?’ What will you do then? Could you face them as a comrade, knowing that none of the Chosen trust you?”

“No!” Takaishi moaned. “I can’t do that to them! I won’t!”

Ken reached out and loosened Takaishi’s fingers from his hair, smiling as the boy shivered at his touch. “Then stay with me. I’ll protect you if your former friends are foolish enough to come seeking revenge.”

“But…” Takaishi hiccuped, sniffled, and drew himself up straight. “I’ll stay, if you don’t evolve Patamon into Devimon again.”

“Done,” Ken said with a nod, devolving Devimon with a tap of a button. He was surprised to find that the bond of partnership was stronger than the bond of family, but he supposed Takaishi was like him and held some resentment towards his older brother.

“And--” Takaishi hesitated, then said softly, “I would understand if you refuse, Kaiser-sama, but maybe you could consider freeing Patamon from the Evil Ring?”

“You long for its company that much?” Ken murmured, stroking his hair again. Takaishi nodded, looking miserable, and Ken weighed the benefits of refusing. He wasn’t insulted that his prisoner wished to have his partner back, and perhaps granting the request would result in less bad behavior in the future. Although he was certain that the month of isolation had stamped most of that out. 

“I will do it as a favour for you,” he said at last, chuckling as Takaishi perked up. “But if he rebels, I’m putting the Evil Ring right back on.”

“I understand, Kaiser-sama. I will make sure he behaves properly,” Takaishi said hoarsely, tearing up again. Ken merely nodded and snapped his fingers, the black ring around Patamon clattering to the floor a second later.

“Takeru!” the creature cried, literally flying into Takaishi’s open arms.

“Patamon! I missed you so much!” The boy buried his face in the Digimon’s fur for a long moment, then looked at Ken. “Thank you, Kaiser-sama. I’ll make sure you don’t regret this!”

Patamon twisted Takaishi’s arms, shooting him a frightened look, but Ken simply nodded and urged the boy to his feet. “Come along. I have things to do today.”

Takaishi seemed content to clutch his partner as he walked, so Ken led them down to his command room and settled into his chair. The other prisoners were going to be released tomorrow, and he was determined to capture as much territory with their enslaved partners before he let them go. 


	8. Hope, Servant

Takeru sat in the Kaiser’s command room the next day, Patamon in his arms. He finally had a good night’s sleep, the knowledge that Patamon was safe enabling him to rest easy for the first time since he had been captured. The Kaiser was off releasing Hikari and the others, but Takeru had chosen to stay behind. It would be too painful to see them leave in person. He was content to watch from a distance.

His heart twisted as Yamato emerged from the tv set that was the meeting point. He would miss his brother, he truly would, but the Kaiser was correct. Yamato was better of without him and the burden of his failures.

Takeru looked away from the screen, not able to bear seeing Yamato anymore. “Takeru? Are you okay?” Patamon asked, reaching up to place a paw on his scar. “Does your cheek hurt?”

“I’m fine, Patamon. Just...a bit sad.”

Patamon’s wings drooped, and he nodded sadly. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Takeru!”

Takeru hugged his partner close, stroking his head. “It’s not your fault, Patamon. The Kaiser made sure to keep us separated.” Patamon had hinted that he recalled some of what he had done while under the influence of the Evil Ring, but Takeru could tell it was painful for him to talk about and so hadn’t pressed for details.

An inner door to the command room slid open and the small insect Digimon Takeru had seen before scurried in and hopped up onto the Kaiser’s throne. Takeru stared in surprise as Patamon gasped, and the Digimon flushed before stammering, “I-I have permission from Ke--Kaiser-sama!”

“Oh...um, then hello! I’m Patamon, and this is Takeru!” Patamon chirped, and Takeru couldn’t help but smile. Of could his partner would make friends with one of the Kaiser’s Digimon.

“Ah...I’m, um, Wormmon.”

Wormmon’s antenna quivered in agitation, and he froze entirely when Patamon asked, “Are you a special Digimon? You don’t have an Evil Ring on.”

“Patamon!” Takeru hissed, hoping that they wouldn’t get punished for talking to Wormmon like this. But he had been wondering the same thing, and he realized the answer was staring him in the face. “You’re...You’re his partner.”

Wormmon turned several shades paler as Patamon deflated. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt us…”

“I won’t h-hurt you,” Wormmon said sadly, antenna drooping. “But yes, I’m Ken--er, the Kaiser’s partner.”

Takeru tried to imagine how the Kaiser had ended up with such a meek partner. No, he knew how. He had first-hand experience in how the Kaiser bent things to his will. He was proof enough of that, after all.

“Oh, the meeting is starting!” Wormmon said, tapping the arm of the chair to enlarge the screen in front of them. Takeru could tell from the looks on everyone’s faces that an argument was about to break out, and hunched over.

“Can you leave the volume off?” he asked, not wanting to hear whatever was going to be said about him.

“Sure,” Wormmon agreed, and Patamon wiggled out of his arms to perch on top of his head.

“Takeru, it’ll be over soon,” his partner murmured, and Takeru took a deep breath. He would watch his former teammates return home, and say his goodbyes from here.

\- - -

The prisoner release had gone well, Ken thought to himself. There had been the expected arguing, crying and shouting, but the captured Chosen had eventually agreed to the terms laid out last month. The highlight had been Ishida all but exploding in rage when he realized his brother wasn’t with the rest, and Ken pointing out that he had never agreed to release Takaishi had made him even angrier.

Kido had all but dragged Ishida back through the Gate, the older blonde swearing vengeance the entire time, and the meeting had proceeded from there. Ken had grudgingly released the children’s partners, and had sneered at the heartfelt reunions that followed. All of the Chosen had left after that, albeit with plenty of grumbling over Ken keeping their Digimentals. The Digivices had gone with them, Ken having no need for the things.

Ken stretched in his chair and reached down to stroke Takaishi’s head. “Ready for a bath?” he murmured, feeling the boy nod a moment later. Picking up the leash, Ken left his command room, shooing Patamon away with a flick of his fingers. He wished to be alone with Takaishi. His partner could find something else to do.

Ken took Takaishi in the opposite direction of the elevator, his lips curving into a smile. His prisoner - no, his servant had never been this way before, and he could practically feel Takaishi’s curiosity as they left the silver hallway behind and entered one lined with marble. Their footsteps echoed on the floor as they walked towards the lone door at the other end, the two Dark Lizamon guarding the door bowing as Ken came closer.

Ken swept past them and into his private quarters, boots sinking into the plush carpet as he paused and removed them. Takaishi did the same with his sandals, then Ken led them onwards to the bathroom. His servant gasped as he took in the luxurious room, and Ken chuckled as he unclipped the leash from the shock collar and set it aside. “Impressed?” he murmured, watching Takaishi gape at the giant tub.

“A little,” he said faintly, attention switching back to Ken as he unclasped his cloak and took it off, hanging it up on a peg. “Kaiser-sama?” he asked nervously as Ken continued to undress.

“You will be joining me for a bath,” he said with sly smile. “Is that a problem?”

Takaishi ducked his head, cheeks flushed red. “Of course not, Kaiser-sama.”

Down to his underwear, Ken walked over and tilted his chin up, smiling as his servant blushed further. “Good,” he murmured, leaning in slightly. “I’d hate to be without your company tonight.” If Takaishi had anything to say, it was cut off by Ken’s kiss.

Ken savoured the feeling of Takaishi’s lips on his, running a hand through his hair to calm him when he tensed up after the surprise faded. “Good boy,” Ken breathed. “Now undress.”

Takaishi did so under Ken’s watchful eye, waiting nervously while Ken stripped off his underwear and stepped into the bath. He felt no shame in being naked in front of his servant. In fact, he quite enjoyed the way he was being stared at. “Join me,” Ken said, sinking into the water with a sigh.

Takaishi did so with only a slight hesitation, moving over to sit next to Ken when he gestured. His servant tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as he focused on Ken’s face. “What is it?” Ken asked, amused by his reaction. This was the first time he had seen Ken without his glasses, and he wondered if his servant recognized the famous Ichijouji Ken.

“Sorry, Kaiser-sama,” Takaishi mumbled, looking down at the water. “You just looked familiar for a moment.”

“Just your imagination,” Ken murmured, boldly sliding his arm around Takaishi’s waist and pulling him close. He nuzzled his servant’s hair for a moment, then kissed the scar on his cheek.

“You’re all mine, Takaishi -- no, Takeru,” he corrected, deciding it was high time to use his servant’s first name.

“Yes, Kaiser-sama,” Takeru said softly, leaning into his embrace. Yes, Ken thought, this is how it should be. He had a loyal servant by his side, and the Digital World would soon belong to him. His life was perfect now.


End file.
